Chemical compatibility of doped yttrium chromite and ceria composite materials with YSZ electrolyte

The interfacial reaction between yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte and different anode materials of single-phase Y0.8Ca0.2Cr0.8Co0.2O3 (YCCC) and YCCC- Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 (YCCC-GDC) composite is investigated. The single-phase YCCC anode is found to react with YSZ and forms a CaZrO3 interlayer at the anode/electrolyte interface during the cell fabrication at 1100 °C in air. On the other hand, the YCCC-GDC composite anode shows no interfacial reaction at the anode/electrolyte interface suggesting good chemical compatibility with YSZ electrolyte. The Gd and Ce in GDC diffuse to YCCC particle surface and grain boundary in the YCCC-GDC composite anode. The electrochemical properties characterizations reveal that the interfacial reaction of YCCC/YSZ leads to low performance of single-phase YCCC anode. The GDC and YCCC mixed particles without reaction with electrolyte form anode frameworks with a large amount of triple phase boundary (TPB) in the YCCC-GDC composite anode. This leads to reduction of the polarization resistance and results in large performance enhancement.